Imperfect world

In Conversation with Gabriele de Seta

Christopher Hobson speaks with Gabriele de Seta, a scholar working on machine vision, digital media and related technologies in China. The conversation develops around his piece on the Chinese term ‘black technology’ (heikeji 黑科技) which has become a buzzword in China for describing the most advanced kind of technologies. We talk about the emergence and meaning of the term, doing so in relation to some of de Seta’s other work on digital practices in China, such as considering how ‘deep fakes’ are commonly known as huanlian, which literally means ‘changing faces’. 
This discussion offers an important reminder of the need to consider how technologies are mediated through the social and cultural contexts in which they are used, as well as the value of moving beyond the Western frames that dominate how these issues are generally considered.
For more information, visit imperfectnotes.substack.com and christopherhobson.net.
This episode has been produced with support from a grant by the Toshiba International Foundation.

In Conversation with L.M. Sacasas

Christopher Hobson speaks with L.M. Sacasas, who has become a leading voice in examining the ethical, social and cultural consequences of technologies. His prior blog, The Frailest Thing, and current Substack newsletter, The Convivial Society, offer a wealth of insight, encouraging a greater awareness of the ways that technologies shape the conditions within which we live and act.
In this rich and broad ranging conversation, Hobson and Sacasas reflect on the challenges of pursuing the good life in a world increasingly dominated by digital technologies, the importance of thinking and judgement, and explore powerful points of overlap and contrast between different traditions and cultures. 
For more information, visit imperfectnotes.substack.com and christopherhobson.net.
This episode has been produced with support from a grant by the Toshiba International Foundation.

In Conversation with Claire Benn

Christopher Hobson speaks with Claire Benn, a philosopher who explores how our growing reliance on digital technologies are impacting our moral landscape, and the ethical challenges that come from a world shaped by machines.
In this conversation, Claire points to the importance of thinking about how humans think, feel and act, and considering whether machines might reason and act in quite different ways. We consider the benefits that come with advances in digital technologies, as well as the costs and compromises that come with them, and the potential value of discomfort. What comes through from this conversation is that ethics and technological development should not be considered separately, rather they are vitally connected.
For more information, visit imperfectnotes.substack.com and christopherhobson.net.
This episode has been produced with support from a grant by the Toshiba International Foundation.
 

In Conversation with PC

Christopher Hobson speaks with PC, a scholar and writer based in Melbourne, who has recently started a substack called, Living together, somehow.
The conversation commences with PC's reflections on the experience of tailgating, which are used as a way of thinking about how certain technologies shape our engagement with each other and the world. From that, the discussion traverses through considering how different cultures can lead to different practices with similar technologies, the roles played by regulation and restraint in shaping our behaviour, how the logic of extraction is a fundamental part of contemporary societal relations, and the radical possibilities of love as a response to the challenges of living together.
This is an open discussed based on a long friendship and working relationship, which brings out some thought-provoking reflections on what the good life can be like in contemporary conditions.
For more information, visit imperfectnotes.substack.com and christopherhobson.net.
This episode has been produced with support from a grant by the Toshiba International Foundation.

In Conversation with David Cayley

In this episode, Christopher Hobson speaks with David Cayley, who spent much of his career producing long-form radio programs for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
As part of this work, Cayley recorded a series of interviews with Ivan Illich, whose thinking on the way that technologies are reshaping people, as well as his acute critiques of major societal institutions, have been rediscovered in recent years. In 2021, Cayley published, Ivan Illich: An Intellectual Journey, which explores the life and work of this powerful thinker.
This conversation with Cayley circles around some big issues present in his work and Illich’s, including the role of science in society, how to think about technology, the importance of limits, surprise, the pandemic, and much more.
For more information, visit imperfectnotes.substack.com and christopherhobson.net.
This episode has been produced with support from a grant by the Toshiba International Foundation.

Introduction

This is a brief introduction to ‘Imperfect World’, hosted by Christopher Hobson, a scholar and writer based in Japan. It builds on the writings found on his substack newsletter, 'Imperfect Notes on an Imperfect World'.
To begin with, this conversation series will focus broadly on thinking about the relationship between society and technology. We need to examine more carefully how digital technologies are reshaping our lives, the ways we think, the conditions in which we act. It is a vital component of the changes now taking place.
The world is littered with hints and clues; the challenge is recognising them, looking and listening. That is what this conversation series attempts to do.
For more information, visit imperfectnotes.substack.com and christopherhobson.net.
This has been produced with support from a grant by the Toshiba International Foundation.